


Unity

by swallowed_stars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Marmora Dads AU, The Thulaz isn't very prevalent but there's a small dosage, baby Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 21:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11426190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swallowed_stars/pseuds/swallowed_stars
Summary: Keith doesn't understand why he doesn't look like the Galras who raise him, so he gets creative.Aka Toddler Keith being raised by the Blade of Marmora AU





	Unity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paladiens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paladiens/gifts).



The door to Keith’s room is ajar, and Thace’s ears prick up at the sound of something being torn as he walks by. He takes two steps backward and pokes his head into Keith’s room where Keith is sitting on the floor, his legs sprawled out. In his tiny hands, he’s holding a jacket tailored to fit a human child his size. He tugs and tugs at the jacket’s sleeve in particular, a guttural growl bubbling in the back of his throat as the material of the sleeve still holds together.

 

Keith tucks the jacket between his legs and puts the end of the sleeve in his mouth, pulling with his legs and biting with his mouth simultaneously. This, too, is fruitless, as he rolls onto his back with an ‘oomph’. Thace doesn’t bother to contain his laughter as he lingers in the doorway, folding his arms across his chest nonchalantly.

 

“What _are_ you doing?” He asks, and Keith’s wide, violet eyes melt into a defensive glare.

 

Keith spits out the sleeve and shouts: “Don’t look yet!”

 

“What, pray tell, am I supposed to divert my eyes from?” Thace says, but he receives no answer.

 

Keith reaches to the side and produces his minuscule blade, though it looks impressive against his small form. Worry flares up in Thace upon seeing his cub with the weapon; though it is the designation for all Marmora members, he’s far too young to possess it. Keith slips the blade against the seam of the sleeve and cleaves it off of the jacket precisely, casting his knife aside when it’s done.

 

“Okay, watch…” Keith demands of his rather quizzical audience. He then grabs hold of the severed sleeve and tucks it into the back of his pants, letting the majority of it trail behind him. He then turns around to show it off to Thace.

 

“Look!”

 

“What am I seeing other than you destroying an item of clothing?”

 

“It’s my tail!” Keith emotes, gesturing with his hand to show how his makeshift tail drags onto the floor.

 

Thace smiles at him and says, “Brilliant. Do you know who would like to see that?”

 

“Who?”

 

“Leader. Shall we show you off to him?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

Keith’s hand finds Thace’s, though it nearly engulfs him. They walk side-by-side down the corridor, Keith rubbing at his eye with the heel of his free hand.

 

“Did you forego your nap this afternoon, Keith?”

 

“Maybe…”

 

They reach Kolivan’s quarters, though both he and Ulaz are inside. Thace decides that they must have just missed a briefing of sorts; otherwise, they wouldn’t be as accepting of his and Keith’s intrusion. Keith huddles behind Thace, an action that he mistakes for bashfulness until Thace hears a mischievous cackle come from the cub.

 

Ulaz looks up first, his eyes softening when he sees it’s Thace.

 

“Is something the matter?” Kolivan inquires, to which Thace shakes his head.

 

“Keith simply had something he wanted to show you.” Thace stands to the wayside so that Keith can have the floor. His tail affectionately curls around Ulaz’s arm as he nestles beside him.

 

Kolivan is stoic as he waits for Keith’s announcement and Keith turns, pointing to the sleeve flowing from his back as he says:

 

“I’ve got a tail; now I can be like you!”

 

Thace maintains his look of entertainment and Ulaz remains neutral, but Kolivan tilts his head at Keith.

 

“So you can look like us? Is that what this is?” Kolivan asks, and Keith wilts at his question.

 

Kolivan’s eyes dart to Thace and Ulaz then. He instructs:

 

“Leave us. I need to speak with our cub.”

 

Thace spares a worried glance at Keith, but Ulaz ushers him out gently, a guiding hand placed on the small of his back. Ulaz purrs due to the contact with his mate and in the hopes of calming him as they cross the foyer. As they leave, Keith stares at Kolivan almost fearfully.

 

Kolivan says nothing at first, though he presses a hatch that opens the chrome-plated wall to reveal a widened, circular window. Something that Keith had no idea even existed in this room.

 

“Keith, come.” Kolivan says, and Keith obeys. The two of them turn to face the window, the vastness of space and all the pinpricks of various stars and planets featured before them.

 

“What do you see?” Kolivan asks. Without hesitation, Keith responds:

 

“Stars.”

 

“Mmm. Not all of them are stars, however. Many of them are planets as well. Somewhere, floating amid all of this, is the planet where you are from.”

 

Keith can’t visualize Earth. He’s only ever heard about it in stories or seen brief glimpses of it in his picture books. He especially can’t envision it now, not with all the other things drifting in their quiet nobility before him.

 

“Your planet is out there?” Keith asks, craning his neck to look up at Kolivan.

 

“Indeed, though we are far from it.”

 

Keith presses his hands against the glass. He often wishes that he could go outside, but he’s been warned of the dangers. One day, he’ll reach out and touch one of those stars; but for now, the best he can do is palm them through a clear force field.

 

Kolivan kneels down beside Keith, which takes a great amount of effort due to how tiny the cub is in comparison to himself. He places a hand on Keith’s bony shoulder and says:

 

“Do you see the unity in it, Keith? While there are countless stars and planets, they all belong to the same sky.”

 

Keith blinks at him incredulously, so Kolivan continues:

 

“You are torn in your lineage, fighting to balance who you are with where you are from. It is a difficulty that I myself cannot imagine, but know this: you belong to the Blade of Marmora, and your appearance matters not. While we are not entirely the same, we will always be a part of the same cosmos. You are my cub _and_ you are Galra; nothing will ever change that.”

 

Keith hops on the balls of his feet directly into Kolivan’s arms. Kolivan tightens around Keith, nuzzling him and purring contentedly. Keith does his own version of purring back at him, grumbling low and vibrating his lips together.

 

“You do not have to cut your shirts to blend in with us.” Kolivan murmurs, and he doesn’t relinquish his hold on his cub.

 

“…It was a jacket.” Keith confesses, and he giggles when Kolivan licks a portion of his mussed up hair back into place.

 

“That is my mistake.”

 

“Can I keep the tail anyway?”

 

“Only if you agree to nap when you are supposed to next time.”

 

“I promise!”

**Author's Note:**

> Just a small divergence from my usual as requested by a friend. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
